Sterling Heights woman scammed of $50,000

An 82-year-old Sterling Heights woman is the victim of an international scam that cost her $50,000, police said.

And police say she has no chance of getting any of her money returned.

The woman told police she was contacted shortly after the first of the year informing her she won $1.5 million in a Philippines lottery sweepstakes.

“The woman told us the people who called her said she had to send them $5,000 to collect her winnings,” Lt. Luke Riley said. “She took money out of her savings and sent it to them.”

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Riley said it didn’t end there. He said they called her several subsequent times and she sent them more money.

She was told to send the money to an individual by the name of Darwin Abelo. Riley said the money was picked up, probably at a Western Union office in the Philippines, and there is no way to trace who exactly picked up the money.

“This lasted until she went to withdraw another $5,000 and her bank got suspicious and told her she was being scammed,” Riley said. “The woman then called us.”

Riley said it is often difficult for senior citizens to check with their children about scams because they would be admitting they cannot handle some money scenarios.

“We always tell adult children to keep abreast with what their senior citizen parents are up to and to constantly tell them you get nothing for nothing and to check with them whenever they get a call from someone they don’t know,” Riley said.